There werefewstoriesthen—incomicsoranywhereelse—thatcapturedthetextureandrangeof women’s lives, demonstrating the reality ofabjection andpleasureandeverythinginbetween.Kominsky-Crumb’scomicsofferarevelatorylookintothecomplicated,contradictorylivedlivesof women.They changedmylifeandthelivesofalotofotherreaders,too.“OfWhatUseisanOld Bunch?”endswith a sweet nod to the original, ina large concluding panel that pictures Aline on all fours, with her grandson riding her back. “Is this sick??”, she wonders. “I hope not . . . ’causewe’re havin’ fun!”

AlineKominsky-Crumbisbynomeansold—and she has more vigor and effervescence than most youngpeopleIknow—althoughthisisanappropriatemomenttoconsiderherfour-plusdecadesof influenceasanartist,editor,andall-aroundtastemaker.Thekindofworkshepioneered,evidentfrom herveryfirstpublishedcomicspiece,“Goldie:A NeuroticWoman,”(inthe1972inauguralissueof Wimmen’sComix),hasfinallybecomemoreaccepted andmainstream.AsHuffingtonPostcorrectlypointed outin2017aboutKominsky-Crumb’soeuvre:“It’sa breedofunapologetic,confessionalhumorthat young womentodaymightrecognizeintelevisionshows like‘Girls,’‘BroadCity,’or‘Fleabag,’showsthat makespaceforfemalecharacterswhoaresloppy, complex,sexualor,asthey’reoftendescribed,‘difficult.’” Butwhile todaywe watch stories like these on mainstreammediaplatformslikeHBOorAmazon, inthe1970s,itwasrare fora womantoputherself—thegood,thebad,andtheugly—atthecenterofstoriesthewayKominsky-Crumbdid.Itwasevenrare in the no-holds-barred context ofunderground comics,wherethemenandwomenresponsiblefordevelopingtheserious“graphicnovel”fieldwehavetoday published their comics entirely outside of mainstreamproductionanddistributionchannels—and commercial strictures. What is widely credited as the first autobiographicalworkincomics:JustinGreen’s groundbreakingstand-alonecomicbookBinkyBrown MeetstheHolyVirginMary,aboutCatholicguiltand obsessive compulsive disorder, didn’t appear until 1972. Kominsky-Crumb, inspired by Green, published her own autobiographical comics work—the firstsuchwork createdbyawoman—later thatyear.

Even within the world ofunderground comics, which valued smashing taboos, Kominsky-Crumb brokebarriers,especiallywithherconsistentattention toembodiment.Amongothergroundbreakingimages, “Goldie” (the titlerefers toKominsky-Crumb’s maiden name,Goldsmith)picturesthebodilypainofpuberty andadolescence—“Iwasagiantsluglivinginafantasyoffuturehappiness . . . ”;unhappymentalimages of paternalerections;sexualintercoursewithmany differentmen;andmasturbationwithvegetables.In onepanel,Goldiestaresstraightahead—engaging thereader’sgaze:“Iwasalwayshornyandguilty.” ThestoryendswithGoldierecognizingthatshehas “alottaputencial”(misspellingsareadeliberatepart of theKominsky-Crumbuniverse)andmovingto SanFrancisco,theepicenterof undergroundcomics:“Isetouttoliveinmyownstyle!”Therest,as wemightsay,ishistory.Kominsky-Crumbarrived in the underground comics scene and made her way, creating out ofwhole cloth a funny, courageous, and tonally complex aesthetic idiom and opening the floodgates for raw autobiographical stories to take shape in comicsform.

Evenwithinthefeministcomicscollectivethat producedWimmen’sComix,Kominsky-Crumb’swork stood out for its striking attention to the routine functionsof thefemalebody,bothpainfulandpleasurable—andalsoforproducingsuchworkunderthe rubricof thefirstperson.Weseethisattentionto capturingtheeverydayexperienceofembodimentin “BunchPlaysWithHerself,”from1975, a two-page piece with same-size frames throughoutthatrevealsadayinthelifeoftheBunch:poppingapimple,scratchingherbehindandsmelling herfinger, eatingasandwich,masturbating,tanning outside,gettingsunburned,napping.“Mybodyis anendlesssourceofentertainment!”thelastpanel reads. Pieces like this are confrontational about all functions ofthe body—it slows down to pay attention to the scratching, the smelling, and to deliver a detailedclose-uppaneloftheBunch’svaginawhile she “plays with herself.”

Kominsky-Crumb went on to also publish her autobiographical stories in underground publications including Arcade: the Comics Revue, founded by Art SpiegelmanandBillGriffith (1975–1976);PowerPak, her own solo comic book (1979–1981); and Weirdo (1981–1993), the acclaimed, influential anthology foundedbycartoonistRobertCrumbandedited by Kominsky-Crumb for seven years. With Crumb, whomshemarriedin1978,shealsofoundedthetitles DirtyLaundryandSelf­Loathing,whichfeaturedthecouple’s collaborative confessional strips; their collaborations started appearing in The New Yorker in 1995, andmanywerecollectedintheirbookDrawnTogether.

When I interviewed her about ten years ago, Kominsky-Crumb pointed out that her work has alwaysbeencompletelyunsuccessful.TwistedSisters, shesaid,had“noimpact . . .Wehadnofeedback;it soldhardlyanycopies.”Shewenton,referringto hercomicbooktitlesaswellastoLoveThatBunch: “Ihadnosuccessever.Inanyterms . . .Ineverhad anykindoffeedbackfromthefineartssceneorthe comicsworld.” Atleastinpart,thissituationseems to beareactiontoherparticularstyle.Kominsky-Crumbhasafineartbackground.Shegrewupin Woodmere,intheFiveTownsareaofLongIsland, which she describes as materialistic, striving, and “horrible,”butstartedtakingartlessonsandpaintingatage eight.Asayoungteenager,shebecameenamoredwithNewYorkCity’s museums,andinspiredby avant-garde idioms. One panel from Love That Bunch shows her as a teenager staring at a Cubist painting thinking,“IfIcanfigurethisoutIcanescapefrom Long Island!!” Kominsky-Crumb attended Cooper Union in New York City for a semester before moving toTucsontoearnaBFAinpainting attheUniversity ofArizona.

Despite her training with paint and canvas, it was comics that would become the medium in which Kominsky-Crumb firstrealized her artistic vision. She eventually fled the (often male– and Abstract Expressionist-dominated) world ofart schooland painting forthe worldofSanFranciscounderground comics publishing, which felt more open, porous, urgent, and truly experimental, a realm where personalstories,andwomen’spersonalstories,couldfind shape. But while her comics work operates in conversationwithfine artidioms—sheisparticularlyinfluenced by German Expressionist artists such as Otto DixandGeorgeGrosz—thelackofmimeticrealism inherdrawingshavecodedtocomicsfansasunskilled rather than expressionistic; as “bad” rather than communicatingemotionalurgencyandimmediacy inthefebrilityofthelineanddistortionofperspective. Kominsky-Crumb is also influenced by painters who delved into the dark and the personal, such as AliceNeel,FridaKahlo,andJamesEnsor,alongwith Matisse, Picasso, and Cézanne—painters known for eschewingcorrectperspectiveandacademicrealism in favor ofexpressivity and essence.

Kominsky-Crumb has a thin, wavering line, and herpanels,whilemuchofthedrawinglacksrealistic detail, areregularly crammed and crowded, especially in reproducing pattern and texture. When Kominsky-Crumbfirst startedcollaboratingwithRobertCrumb toproducecomics,manyfansofhis work—known for its fluid crosshatching and masterful control—found Kominsky-Crumb’s shaky hand, which can look so uncrafted,aninsult;theywrotenastyletters.

“She has inspired countless cartoonists and readers, especially women and girls who weren’t used to seeing multifaceted representations of their everyday lives on the page—or anywhere—reflected back at them with such honesty.”

Butnotallofthem.Whileincomparisontoother major,terrain-shiftingfigures incontemporarycomics, Kominsky-Crumb’s work has remained in the shadows, there have always been ardent admirers for whom her influence has been profound. Her comics stories and the landmark Love That Bunchopened up thefieldof comicstobemoreconfessional—more openbothstylisticallyandintermsofcontent.She has inspired countless cartoonists and readers, especiallywomen and girlswhoweren’t used to seeing multifacetedrepresentationsof theireverydaylives on the page—or anywhere—reflected back at them with such honesty. The cartoonist Phoebe Gloeckner firstdiscoveredTwistedSistersasayoungteenager.

Therehasbeenanuptickofcriticalattentionin thepasttenorsoyearstothesignificance andongoingappealand relevanceofKominsky-Crumb’scomics (she also has a separate life as an exhibiting artist workinginavarietyofmedia,whichhasalsodrawn important attention—where her style appears very differentfromwhatappearsinhercomics—whichfor her is a direct,confessional form).

Andwithmoreandmoreregularity,Kominsky-Crumb’sworkisbeingtaughtinthespaceof the classroom.Oneof myformerstudents,acurrent collegeseniorwhowroteafinalpaperthatexamined Kominsky-Crumb’swork,amongothers,foranart historyclass,wrotetome:“Herscratchydrawing styleandthedistortedanatomyof hercharacters remainunlikeanythingI’veeverseen . . .Herwork uniquelymarriesimagesof lustandrepulsionand bringsvisibilitytothe‘disgusting’aspectsofwomen’s bodiesanddesires.It’sthrillingtoreadKominsky-Crumb, to see her defy all censorship, and track how sheinspiredmanyfearlessfemaleartiststocome.” Other students have commented on the humanity in her work, with its textured, messysurfaces, and lively, uncontainable line.

Hillary Chute is an expert on comics and graphic narratives, professor of English and Art + Design at Northeastern University, and the author of Graphic Women: Life Narrative and Contemporary Comics; Outside the Box: Interviews with Contemporary Cartoonists; and Disaster Drawn: Visual Witness, Comics, and Documentary Form. She is also the associate editor of Art Spiegelman’s MetaMaus. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.